SHE might have only competed in four skeleton bob World Cup races, but West Kingsdown's Lizzy Yarnold has served notice of her intentions to the rest of the winter sport fraternity.

The 23-year-old won her second World Cup event in Calgary, Canada, beating Germany's Anja Huber, the 2008 world champion no less, by 0.54 seconds and is now ninth in the FIBT world rankings.

If anyone thought her first victory in Saint Moritz was a fluke, they had to eat their words as she produced two great runs in the final World Cup race of the season to triumph.

Yarnold goes into next Thursday's World Championships in Lake Placid – an event she qualified for by winning the junior world title last month – in confident mood.

"This week, I do some work in the gym and it will be a different type of race," she said, speaking from Canada. "Other athletes will be added in, for instance, Team GB will have a few athletes from the Intercontinental Cup so it will be a much more diverse field.

"I have goals in my mind in what I want to achieve.

"My goal is to do as well as I can and see where I finish – as long as I do the best I can, then I will be pleased. I have been at this track before, but that was two years ago and I just want to learn the track again to a reasonable standard."

With her stunning performances in the World Cup, Yarnold's profile and stature in the sport has sky-rocketed and, although she downplayed any medal hopes, the athlete must surely be one of the favourites at Lake Placid.

The win in Calgary – Yarnold's team-mate Shelley Rudman won the overall World Cup title – was phenomenal in terms of the time distance between her and Huber – half a second is a huge margin at the highest level.

"I had been trying new steers and techniques on the last day of training and my times weren't as good as they had been in previous days," she said.

"When I came to the first run, I was confident and was really focused.

"I was just relieved when I came down and saw I was in first place.

"I had to wait 40 minutes for my second run – it's a long time to watch your competitors go before you, but I listened to some music, some British hip-hop, Kano, to relax. I wasn't nervous at all and I knew in my own mind what I needed to do.

"I just couldn't believe how it all went and I was very, very pleased with the result."

With her achievements already this season, would anyone be in the least bit surprised if Yarnold won a World Championship medal next week?